History of cosmetic products can be traced back to ancient civilations. According to the information obtained from the remains, even though they were formulated with much simpler ingredients compared to the ingredients we are using nowadays, cosmetics were used for the same purposes as we are using them today.
10,000 years ago some of the volatile oils and creams were used for moisturizing and cleansing the skin, protecting it from harmful effects of the sun and wind, cleaning, eliminating body odours or to make it smell nice. These purposes are complying exactly with today’s cosmetic product definitions as given in the current regulations.
The ancient Egyptians had painted their bodies and hairs with paints they had made with natural materials such as various plant organs or minerals; used kohl to paint corner of their eyes to obtain almond shaped eyes and people of all ages and sexes had bags to carry their. All this shows that even then cosmetic products were an important part of daily life.
Both the European Union (EU) and the Turkish Cosmetic Regulation define cosmetic products as; “any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance and/or correcting body odours and/or protecting them or keeping them in good condition”and the components as;
“All substances and mixtures that are either natural or synthetic in origin used for production of cosmetics except for parfume and aromatic components (2).
It is a well-known fact that various cosmetic products were used in the daily life of not only the Egyptians, but also the Romans, people of the Far East nations, Chinese, Japanese and others.
Cosmetics usage of a person, who even says “I do not use any cosmetics at all’’, starts with face, body, hair and oral cavity cleaning products as he /she gets up in the morning and probably continues with more products such as moisturizers, appearance enhancers and deodorants and a perfume.
So, in a normal day we end up using a considerate amount of cosmetic products just to keep a clean and healty skin and hair. While there is a general consensus that women use more cosmetics than men, using cosmetics from cradle to grave by all ages and gender is unavoidable.
Our cosmetics usage starts with our first bath after birth and ends up with products that are used during the preparation for our last journey just before the funeral. While the use of cosmetic products is becoming widespread and the reason for use are varying, the raw materials used for hem are also getting rather diversified as well.
The number of raw materials which were used in the ancient times could have been managed with a short list which included some food ingredients, materials obtained from plants, natural minerals and various mixtures of them. Today, cosmetic ingredient list may have thousands of rows with a considerable industry support behind it.
In the past, even some hazardous materials were used due to certain effects of them, nowadays safety of the raw materials as well as the products is very important.
In the past, materials such as lead and arsenic, that cause facial contractions and paralysis, were used due to their skin whitening effects which made the user look younger (for example the powder used by Queen Elizabeth the Ist to gain her famous pale / porcelain complexion), but today we definetely avoid using hazardous materials and with more and new active ingredients and excipients, we can produce healthier products with stronger benefit claims (1,2).
Our first goal in modern medicine is to maintain a healthy life and to protect us from diseases. Treating diseases in order to restore health is the secondary goal. In cosmetic product usage, a similar approach has gained importance. Cancer is one of the most feared illnesses.
Researchers and the published statistics have shown how high the numbers of cancers caused by the harmful effects of the sunlight. As a result, sunlight is identified as the most important environmental risk factor for skin cancers by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (3).
Epidemiological studies have shown that the cause of non-melanoma skin cancers is chronic exposure to the sun. For many years, the effects of the sun’s rays were mostly investigated with a focus on UVA and UVB rays (Table 1).
Preventing skin cancers, which is the root of 1/3 of the total cancers has become very important and suggestions have been developed for protection from sunlight by discussing the benefits of using physical protection methods or by using sun care products.
Not only the skin cancers are caused by harmful effects of UV rays but also they are largely responsible for some other unwanted effects such as suppresion of immune system, early skin aging and brown spots (4).
Other important factors that have been defined in skin ageing exposome are air pollution, bad diet and others (stress, insufficient sleep, some products used). It is thought that 80% of the skin’s wrinkling, sagging in other words signs of skin is due to exposed UV lights (5).
The most striking proof of photoaging is the right and left half-face images of a 69-yearold truck driver man. Unilateral dermatoholiosis caused by exposure to UVA rays which penetrated through the window glass (which is impermeable to UVB rays) of the truck for 28 years (6).
Recently, effect of IR (Infrared) and visible light has been attracting more attention. A study conducted by Mahmoud et al showed that IR and visible light contribute to the formation of free radicals (7).
Also another study that was conducted by using an artificial light source which emitted light at 400-800 nm wavelength has shown that light at these wavelengths cause pigmentation on the skin (8).
It seems like visible light will be a topic that might be interesting for some researchers in the future, as it is not a light that we protect ourselves from and emitted by not only the sun but also LED lights used in our homes and offices, screens of TV, computer and cellphones.
These studies are important, especially for melasma and other pigmentation-derived skin diseases. In another in-vitro study, it has also been shown that these rays increase the expression of the tumor necrosis factor mRNA found in keratinocytes, and MMP-1 which is effective in collagen degradation.
It is thought that such gene regulation activities are due to the increased free radical production and consequently this may lead to premature aging in the skin.
Further studies on the chronic effects of white light, which is shown to contribute to the formation of wrinkles by invivo animal testing, is required. The effects of free radicals caused by visible light (white light) on skin cancers have not been studied sufficiently.
Thus, in vitro models or more studies on human beings, about the effects of white light should be investigated in terms of premature aging and cancers. Moreover, the initial data show that the suncare products used today cannot prevent against the effects of white light.
The formulations of the products that we expect to protect our skin from the sun rays,especially the ones for every day protection, should be designed as to have a new dimension that they can protect the skin against most of the rays having different wavelengths.
Epigenetics emphasizes again and again how important the lifestyle is, by underlining the different diseases seen unexpectedly in the same egg twins while their genome map is precisely defined. Early approaches which entered cosmetic science as “Life Style Analysis” have become more exiting today.
With the help of a program downloaded to the phone more accurate personal skin type and lifestyle analysis has become possible to do. Combining this with 3D printing techniques, it will be possible to produce not only personalised products, but also products that meet the needs of different areas of the skin.
In parallel with the Human Genome Project, International Human Microbiome Consortium was established in 2008, which aimed to study the microbiome of nasal, oral, skin, gastrointestinal truct and urogenital regions (9).
In contrast with gastrointestinal truct, skin microbiome showed differences between person to person and differences between different skin areas in the same person.
One of the most popular subjects of 2018 was skin microbiome studies. Number of researchers are trying to understand this very difficult issue and try to find out the contribution of microbiome to the problems encountered like skin sensitivities, eczema and acne.
While such research is underway, consumers have also been offered products which contain probiotic and prebiotic contents. Another dimension that should not be forgotten in these studies is the effects of the substances contained in the products on the microbiota.
Are there any short and long term effects of the cosmetic products on the microbiome, although we can prove their usefulness through objective efficcacy tests? Are they creating brand new environmental condition?
Is it possible to make all of these new conditions protect the skin from all harmful factors, meet the needs, repair the damaged systems and control the aging processes?
BS Pharm, PhD.
Yasemin Yağan Uzuner
Pharmaceutical Technology Department Head
Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University
Faculty of Pharmacy
References
1- Chaudhri SK, A review,Asian J of Pharmaceutics, 2009; 164-167
2- Kozmetik Yönetmeliği, 2005, Resmî Gazete Sayısı: 25823.
3- El Ghissassi F, Baan R, Straif K et al. A review of human carcinogens –part D: radiation., Lancet Oncol 2009; 10: 751–52.
4- Uzuner Y.Y., Effect of Sun to Skin and Sunscreen Products, Turkiye Klinikleri J Cosm Dermatol-Special Topics ;2017; 10(1):24-38.
5- 58- Uitto J, Understanding premature skin aging, N Eng J Med., 1997; 337: 1463-65.
6- Gordon JRS and Brieva JC, Unilateral Dermatoheliosis, N Engl J Med, 2012; 366:e25.
7- Mahmoud BH, Ruvolo E, Hexsel CL et al. Impact of long-wavelength UVA and visible light on melanocompetent skin. J Invest Dermatol 2010; 130: 2092–97.
8- 31- Liebel F, Kaur S, Ruvolo E, Kollias N, Southall MD. Irradiation of skin with visible light induces reactive oxygen species and matrix-degrading enzymes. J Invest Dermatol 2012; 132: 1901–07.
9- Human Microbiome Project Consotium Collaboraors(248), Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome., Nature. 2012 Jun 13;486, (402):207-14.
